Labial tearing

[firsttimemum97]

DS is 3 days old, I had torn my inner upper labia and have been in absolute agony since. I was offered stitches but then the head consultant told me it was best to heal on my own. I've managed to have a couple of wees (sorry if TMI) but now I'm too sore to even think about having one.
Would it be possible to be admitted back into hospital to have anaesthetic and stitches or is it too late? I'm in agony!!! Any help?

I don't know what you should do but wee in the bath or pouring a jug of water over while you wee will help short term

Definitely get it looked at. Midwife should be able to advise. Seek her advice first thing tomorrow. In the meantime, ice.

Weeing in the bath might help.

Tea tree oil and lavender oil (3 drops'ofveach) put in a bottle of water and douching yourself with it will help with healing. They're unlikely to want to stitch it now. But you could ask the community midwife to have a look at it and see what she thinks.

Labial tears are very painful but it’s too late to have it stitched now. Drink loads to keep your wee diluted and try weeing in a warm bath or pouring a jug of warm water over yourself as you wee. Did they tell you to gently part them several times a day so they don’t stick together? Honestly they normally heal really well without stitches but are very stingy! Hope you feel better soon.

I had a labial tear with my second. It was so much more painful than the episiotomy and tear I had the first time when doing a wee.
I think the stinging only lasted a few days but I remember being terrified to wee.
Fingers crossed the pain gets better soon.

I had a labial tear with my 2nd dc but they did stitch it. I think it was most painful between days 3-7 but then it was ok. Definitely ask your midwife to have a look first thing tomorrow.

Thank you all, I've just sat in a warm bath and then got out for a wee but the pain was unbelievable. I have a midwife coming out tomorrow to help me breastfeed so I will mention it to her. I think this pain is worse than the whole labour and delivery!!!

Wee IN the bath, while there’s still water in it

Wee in the bath, honestly. Just run a shallow one, do the wee, empty the bath and refill.

I had a labial tear but it was stitched. Day three was the most painful as everything had swollen but then it improved. Definitely get midwife to look at it. I hope the pain improves quickly.

If you’re breastfeeding I found lying down to feed so much more comfy so there was no pressure on the tear.

How long did you spend off your feet? I went out today for a good 7 hours which I think has made it much worse. I will mention it tomorrow and see what she suggests. My OH had a look and said it's not infected but there's a lot of gunk 😖

The gunk is completely normal. Being out for 7 hours today will have been a bit much I expect. It certainly won't have done you any favours.

What I did with mine (and it worked a charm)

Every single time you need a wee run a like warm bath a few inches deep with a drop of lavender in it.
Remove bottom half of clothing and sit in bath.
Wee whilst 'wafting' water towards your labia (helps further with the stinging sensation)
Get out and dry yourself off.

It will get better quickly but I agree in the meantime it will sting like a bitch! Keep yourself clean down there and drink lots of water and it will be gone soon. Don't do another wee in air for another week though. Not worth it.

You can use the shower head on a gentle pressure too if you sort of direct it downwards. That should help and easier if you're struggling in the bath

You need to wee in the bath or shower, or pour a jug of warm water over the area while going on the loo.

Labial tears are extremely stingy at first but it will improve in the next few days.

And you should absolutely not be out of the house for 7 hours with a 3 day old baby! You need to sit and rest. Your body has been through a very physical ordeal and needs to heal.

Oh god I am cringing and crossing my legs at you going out 7 hours with a 3 day old and labial tears😖😖. You need to rest and try not to be so active as to cause friction.

I had a labial grazes and small tears with my middle and last baby and the first wees stung. Try taking arnica drops or rubbing arnica on the tear. Keep the area clean by pouring water over it during every wee and STOP walking 7 hours a day 😋 until the midwife sees you.

I had a labial tear. It was as you say excruciatingly painful having a wee. I did get stitches but they all fell out anyway and when I went for a check up a few days post birth the only thing they could do was recommend weeing in the shower and give me some local anaesthetic gel but I'm not sure that really helped.
You should definitely resting, walking around and putting pressure on the area will not help healing. To put it in perspective I have also had a section and felt significantly worse after the vbac even though it went pretty smoothly. Ignore anyone who says they popped straight back up, cleaned the whole house and pushed a double buggy 5 miles on the school run, it's just not helpful! I think after about 2 weeks I was feeling better and relatively soon after that completely recovered.

Seven hours? That must have been exhausting.

I had a labial tear with four stitches (just a month ago) and it’s healing well. Advice I was given was run out water over area with ever wee and again after to clean. Pat dry only. When showering no soap down there. Just water. Sit on hard chairs if you can - whilst you will hate the pressure at first it should help relieve the swelling. Make sure you change your pads regularly to help keep the area clean.

Good luck and take it easy. You’ve just run a few marathons back to back and need to recover.

I guess I was being daft going out yesterday, I just can't bare being stuck in the house. I will definitely try peeing in the bath today. I'm just so scared of the pain it puts me off going 😂 how long did it take for yours to heal?

Sudocrem the area. It's doesn't hurt going on and you can wee pain free. I used to sit crying with pain on the toilet after ds1 but Sudocrem was my saviour. Labial tears really hurt

7 hours!

Hope you feel better soon op

I've found sitting in the bath and weeing is a lot less painful although the sting is definitely still there. Pouring water down there whilst weeing helps too. My poor DP is running me a bath every time I need a wee because I will wet myself if I do it myself 😳 I don't know how I'll cope when he goes back to work!!

You poor thing! I've had labial fissures before and they hurt enough, never mind tears! I found lasinoh (lanolin) really helpful to protect and soothe them - not recommended to me by anyone medical, but discovered in desperation! Might be worth a try if you have any in for breastfeeding.

Congrats on the little one!